'Cuz He's ... Batman (?)

Among the many images reporters were left with during a long afternoon of staking out the Sayre Park section of Lehigh, waiting for Eagles veterans to report to training camp (especially Brian Westbrook and Lito Sheppard), there was this: Offensive tackle Jon Runyan unloading an inversion table from the back of his pickup.

That’s right, a 6-7, 330-pound man spends part of every day hanging by his ankles. Picture that a moment.

Runyan said he has been using the thing for two years, but usually only hangs for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Any longer than that, he said, and his eyes begin bulging out.

Making regular use of the inversion table helps his back as much as anything else. And coincidence or not, he has played in 192 straight games, including playoffs.

It’s not like he hasn’t been hurt, either. He played the last 10 games of 2007 with a broken tailbone, and said it still bothers him when he sits for a long time, as was the case on the long drive to Bethlehem.

“I’m fine,” he said, “as long as I’m standing up.”

He will spend a lot of time on his feet over the next couple weeks, though he is one of those who has been granted admission to the “30-Plus Club” by coach Andy Reid, meaning he will get morning practices off every third day.

“Can I get my years retroactive?” Runyan asked. “I wouldn’t have to practice at all.”

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Not exactly glamorous, hanging out, outside the dorms. Reporters passed the time, discussing the Jimmy Rollins fiasco and the comedic stylings of Jerry Lewis (the consensus: He’s unappreciated.) Then a luxury vehicle would approach, and everybody wondered who might emerge from behind the tinted windows. Was that Brodrick Bunkley? Montae Reagor? Asante Samuel?

All around, there were signs of conspicuous consumption. One flat screen after another was unloaded. Westbrook again showed up with his hyperbaric chamber.

Then there was guard Todd Herremans, who pulled up in a souped-up 1983 GMC G-Series van he just bought yesterday.

At 5:45 p.m. a long-haired figure, wearing a white T-shirt, jeans and a backwards Kansas City Royals baseball cap, came walking from the parking lot to the dorms, a backpack slung over his back, an equipment bag slung over his left shoulder.

Kevin Curtis.

Nobody bothered to stop Curtis, even though the veteran wide receiver is coming off a season that saw him catch a career-high 77 passes.